HE icy hand of death is felt in every home, and the courtesies that may console affliction in other circles to-day, may become necessary among your loved ones to-morrow. It is therefore most imporant that the least experienced may be instructed as to the conditions

which environ the mourner, and prescribe rules for the visitor, when sorrow affects the household. The deep distress of the bereaved family renders it desirable that some friend should relieve them of the necessity to transact the business incidental to the funeral, and from many painful interviews which at such times are otherwise inevitable. An intimate friend can ascertain and exe- cute the wishes of the family, calling to his aid,  if necessary, some professional person,  as,  for instance,  the undertaker

employed, who will advise on matters touching the ceremonial.

Ostentation and meanness ought equally to be avoided in the outlay and pomp of the funeral, which should be governed by the position held by the deceased, the condition of the family and the wish, if any on the subject has been expressed by the deceased, as sometimes the dying are very precise in their directions as to funerals and burial. The gentleman who undertakes the management should ask a lady friend to make the purchases necessary for the family previous to the funeral, as he cannot be expected to understand their wants, in such particulars, and none of the household actually bereaved should leave their home for any purpose, from the time of the loss, until after the funeral cortege, save male members of the family.

Much correspondence of a very painful description may be avoided by an announcement in the local press, of the death, and the arrangements made for the funeral. That will meet the requirements of distant friends, but those near and dear to the deceased, whether related or not, must be written

to, on mourning paper, the depth of the border depending on the severity of the blow. Printed or engraved notes may be sent as matters of ceremony, but not where the feelings are touched, and private messengers must deliver all such communications, unless the distance is too great. Very near relatives are exempted by their affliction from attending the funeral, but all others who are notified of the loss should be present. We append forms of notice which may be written or engraved:

Yourself and family are respectfully invited to attend the funeral of Wesley H. Harris, on Thursday, Oct 14, 1880, at 2 o'clock P. M., from his late residence, 3209 Michigan Avenue, to proceed to Graceland Cemetery.

Or, if the services are not at the house:

Yourself and family are respectfully invited to attend the funeral of Wesley H. Harris, from the Second Presbyterian Church, on Thursday, Oct. 14, 1880, at 2 o'clock P. M., to proceed to Graceland Cemetery.

The pall-bearers who are to officiate must be notified by letter, and they should be personal friends of the deceased. The friend who has charge of the funeral will supervise, or send all the invitations, and provide carriages according to the requirements of the sad occasion; he will also instruct the undertaker as to the positions to be allotted to the guests, whose nearness to deceased calls for attention.

While preparations for the funeral are being made, friends will not call, except to leave cards, make inquiries, and offer service, should any be required. In the event of any more urgent call, the friend in charge will receive visitors, and save the family unnecessary intrusion.

As soon as death occurs some sign of bereavement should prevent casual calls; black crape on the bell handle, doorknob, or knocker, will serve if the person was advanced in years, and white ribbon if young and unmarried. The continuance of such insignia depends on custom.

Guests attending a funeral will be careful to present themselves at the hour named in the invitation, not sooner, lest they intrude upon the grief of the family, paying the last visit to the cofin, which is naturally deferred to the moment that precedes the arrival of friends to attend the last ceremony.

The coffin stands in the drawing-room, to which guests will be ushered, while the family assemble in a room near, but not adjoining. The services may be conducted in the house or in the church; if in the house some near relative, but not a member of the household, will receive the guests and see to their comfort. Ladies of the house will not be seen, but gentlemen may be without violating etiquette. When the service is to be conducted in church, guests will go there from the house, and will find the coffin covered in front of the chancel. After the service the lid will be removed to afford the friends an opportunity to look upon the dead for the last time; this wl]l be arranged by the guests forming in the aisle, and moving slowly toward the coffin, which they will pass from foot to head, pausing a moment to gaze reverentially upon the departed, and then continuing their solemn march through the corresponding aisle to the church door. Conversation at such a time is improper.

Enter the home of the deceased with head uncovered as you pass through the doorway, and do not resume your hat until you are passing into the street. Be silent, or converse in low tones, for the presence of death must hush the tongue, and the grief of the family deserves consideration; yet the sibillant tones of the whisper would be more inappropriate than loud speech. During the hour that the service may last, you must drive from your mind the ordinary cares of life; if your friends are there, a silent pressure of the hand may be your only recognition, and should enemies be present, whom you would not recognize, subdue your animosity in the presence of the Great Conqueror, and salute with respect.

After service in the house or church, the clergyman will first enter a carriage, preceding the hearse, which will follow immediately the pall-bearers have done their preliminary work. Sometimes the ladies of the household cannot subdue the natural desire to follow the deceased to his last resting place, and, althougn that is contrary to English etiquette, it may be permitted in this country, where there is more liberty. The carriage next after the hearse contains the nearest relatives in the cortege, and the others follow in order of relationship. Sometimes the chief mourners follow the hearse on foot. The members of the family passing from their room, or church, to the carriages, and vice versa, will follow the friend who has charge of the funeral, who will attend them to their respective carriages, bring the drivers to their places in succession, see that the mourners are properly seated, and close the doors himself. Guests will not salute the mourners, but will stand with bared heads in the presence of their supreme sorrow, expecting no recognition. Guests stand uncovered, a line on either side, as the coffin is being moved on its way.

In England the carriages of distinguished persons without their owners, with blinds lowered, attend the funerals of friends, and in this country the empty carriage of the deceased follows his remains in some instances. Just as the horse of a mounted officer, draped for the occasion, and fully equipped, may form part of the ceremonial. In either of these cases the carriage or horse will come next after the hearse. Carriages will not be used for mourners unless the cemetery is at a

distance which makes walking inexpedient. At the entrance to the cemetery the mourners and guests should dismount, the pall-bearers and bearers should remove the coffin from the hearse, and the funeral procession should be formed on foot, in the order observed at the start, every gentleman uncovered; the coffin, preceded by the clergyman, should be carried to the newly made grave, where the mourners and guests will stand on either side, while the last sad rites are being performed and until the earth has been cast upon the coffin. Ladies attending the funeral should wear subdued colors or mourning.

When flowers are used to decorate the coffin, or room of the dead, they must be white, and friends sending such oferings for that purpose will send on the day of the funeral in time for use before the guests begin to assemble. The ornament on the coffin of youth will be a wreath; on that of a married or elderly person a cross; the regalia of any organisation with which deceased was affiliated will be pheed on the coffin with floral decorations; and if he served his country his epaulettes, hat, sword, and other insignia.

Undertakers usually provide gloves and bands of crape, to be distributed to gentlemen as they enter the house of mourning, but it is more considerate for the guests to attend properly gloved for the occasion, leaving the undertaker only the crape to supply. Returning from the cemetery each guest will be conveyed to his residence.

If the members of any society of which deceased was a member desire to follow in the cortege, they will be honored with a general invitation through the president, and that officer will communicate to the friend who has charge of the funeral, or to the undertaker, the order in which the soclety would prefer to follow, with such other particulars as may be found advisable. Invitations may be extended through the local press, and the societies will be specified distinctly. If the person mourned has been carried off by contagious disease, the fact will be stated in the funeral notice, and in that case no invitations will be issued. The plumes on the hearse for a young person will be white, and for older and married persons sable.

Those who are in deep mourning are excused from paying visits of condolence, lest their own grief should be renewed. Cards for the family may be left in the week following the funeral, and calls two weeks later may be made with the expectation that members of the household may be seen, but there will be brief interviews, and but little con- versation. A custom prevails in England which informs the friends and relatives of the deceased of his death, by cards bordered with black, and the method is coming into wide acceptance here. Such cards may be followed by letters of condolence conveying cards, but must not be held to invite calls before the expiration of the accustomed time.

Sightseers, tourists, and others who are visiting God's acre, to observe the monuments and mementoes of worth and sorrow erected there, will respect the grief of those who are paying the last sad attention to the departed, or decorating their graves, and should they join the throng, will comport themselves as friends extending sympathy.